


Like The Sun and The Moon

by Jackie_SugarSkull



Category: Captain Underpants Series - Dav Pilkey, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)
Genre: Gen, I always headcanoned that he was like George and Harold when he was their age, Mr. Krupp deserves a best friend, Sawyer is the type of gal that would try to get her stick-in-the-mud best bud to lighten up again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2018-12-06 21:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11609652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackie_SugarSkull/pseuds/Jackie_SugarSkull
Summary: What starts out as a usual trip to Mr. Krupp's office for George and Harold, ends in an interesting new art teacher, and a new perspective on their mean old principal, particularly his past. Just who is this "Sawyer Grayps"? How is it that she can easily make someone like Mr. Krupp so happy? Why do the two of them remind George and Harold so much of... themselves? And what'll happen when she discovers their secret involving a certain underwear-clad superhero?





	1. Prologue

”Hey, Mom, are we there yet?” 

”Very funny, Jade. And to answer your question, we're about ten minutes away.” 

”Why are we going all the way to Ohio for your new teaching job, anyway?” The ten-year-old couldn't help but ask, her green eyes shining inquisitively up at the woman sitting in the driver’s seat beside her. “Not that I'm complaining, just curious.” 

”Well, it's for a few reasons, sweetie.” Her mother replied fondly. “First, I grew up in Piqua. There are a lot of good memories in that town for me. Second, quite a few of your uncles and aunts live there. It'd be good for us to be closer to family. And speaking of which, I know for a fact that it's a great place to raise a family.” She then nodded towards the little boy fast asleep in the backseat. “You and your brother will make some amazing new friends in no time!” 

She winked as she added that last part. Her daughter looked less than convinced, however. 

”How are you so sure?” Jade sighed, fidgeting in her seat. “I know Benny will have no trouble, literally everyone who meets him loves him. But you know how I get when I meet new people, Mom. I freeze up and look like a total idiot.” 

The woman frowned a bit at her daughter’s statement. She understood all too well what she was worried about. Jade always had a hard time making friends her own age for various reasons. 

”I know you're nervous, honey…” she started. “But don't you worry. I know you; you're sweet, and funny, and one of the most creative people I know! And I know you'll make some friends who are just as amazing as you. And if you ask me, those kids would have to be _crazy_ not to like you!” 

Jade couldn't help but smile at her mother’s comforting words. “Thanks, mom.” Her mother winked in response. Then, a tiny yawn grabbed their attention. 

”Hey, buddy!” The mother of two greeted her youngest. “Did you have a nice nap?” 

”Mmm-hmm…” The five-year-old replied quietly, bringing a hand up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “Are we there yet?” 

”I already asked that, Benny.” Jade chuckled at her brother. “And the answer is…” 

”Yes. Yes we are!” Their mother excitedly announced. Jade and Benny immediately perked up at this. 

”Wait, really?” 

”YAY!” 

The woman smiled as they entered the small town. “We’re home, guys.” She whispered fondly. “We’re finally home.” 

Now you're probably asking who this woman is. Well, meet Sawyer Grayps; single mother of two, and hopefully, new art teacher. She's moved back to her hometown of Piqua, Ohio to apply for the position of art teacher at Jerome Horwitz Elementary. And little does she know, but this is gonna turn into the biggest, most amazing adventure of her family's life. 

But before I can tell you that story, I have to tell you _this_ story…


	2. New Home, New Neighbors, New Friends...?

”Well, here we are!” Sawyer announced as her car pulled up behind the moving truck. “What do you guys think?” Jade and Benny looked out the car windows at their new home. It was a simple red brick house on the end of the street, average in size, with a single car garage, and a sign saying, “SOLD” on the front lawn. Over to its right was a larger pale yellow house, and next to that, a house the same size as the family's new residence, with a Robin’s Egg blue paint job. 

”It looks nice.” Jade mused. 

”I _love_ it!” Benny squealed, excitedly squirming in his car seat, eager to get out and explore. Sawyer chuckled at her son’s actions. 

”Me too, bud!” Stepping out of the car, she quickly opened both passenger side doors, letting out Jade, and unbuckling Benny from his car seat. The five-year-old quickly scrambled out, taking in his new surroundings with the wide-eyed wonder of a kid on Christmas morning. Jade couldn't help but smile at her little brother's enthusiasm. Most kids his age would be upset about moving to a new place, especially one so far away from their friends. But like their mother, Benny saw it as a new adventure. 

”Thanks again, Phil.” Sawyer said with appreciation as the moving truck’s driver stepped out. “I don't know how we would've made the move this quickly without you. Especially one in the middle of the week, and this, uh, ‘spur-of-the-moment’…” 

”Hey, it was no problem.” Phil grinned. “Anything for Vinnie’s baby sister!” 

Vinnie was the second-eldest of Sawyer's six siblings (she was the literal middle child), and the reason she even found out about the available art teacher position at their old elementary school before anyone else did. See, Vinnie had moved back to Piqua with his wife and twin boys almost 10 years before, after he landed the job as the high school’s new gym coach. And after hearing through the grapevine that Jerome Horwitz Elementary’s music and art programs had recently been reinstated (why they were even shut down to begin with, he didn't know), and was in need of a new art teacher, he knew just the woman to call, and just the man to call to get said woman there in record time. Phil was his brother-in-law, and a driver for one of the best moving companies in the country. This incredibly last-minute move went smoother than silk thanks to him. 

”Now what's say we help you make that house your new home?” Phil continued, as he whistled to the other three movers that were with him. They quickly went into action, opening the back of the truck and unloading the family's furniture, one by one. Jade and Benny couldn't help but watch with fascination as the movers seemed to carry all that heavy furniture with next to no effort. Sawyer quickly called them over to her so she could keep a better eye on them and make sure they wouldn't get hurt in the hubbub. 

”So, you guys liking the new place so far?” She asked. Both kids nodded. 

”Uh-huh.” 

”Yeah!” 

”After the movers bring in the stuff for the living room and kitchen, we’ll go in, and you guys can pick out your rooms, how's that sound?” 

”Okay!” 

”Hey there!” A new voice caught the three’s attention. Sawyer looked over to see a woman about her age approaching them with a friendly smile. Her skin was like milk chocolate, with dark curly hair in a short cut. She was wearing a sea-foam green blouse, dark grey capris, and black slip-on flats. And judging from the pearl necklace and matching earrings, Sawyer could tell that this woman was part of a family was that pretty well-off financially. Not utterly rolling in it, but not struggling either. 

”I'm Barbara.” The woman kindly introduced herself. “Barbara Beard. And judging by the moving truck, I'm guessing you're our new neighbors?” Sawyer grinned. 

”Well, you guessed right!” She held out her hand, which Barbara shook. “Sawyer Grayps. And these are my kids, Jade and Benny.” 

”Hello…” Jade shyly greeted. 

”Hi!” Benny grinned up at his new neighbor, showing off his missing tooth. Barbara was beaming at this point. 

”Awwwwww, they’re so cute!” She cooed. “How old are they?” Jade inched a bit behind her mother, which was Sawyer's cue to answer for her. 

”Jade’s gonna be 10 in January, and Benny just turned 5.” 

”Oh, so that means she's in the same grade as my son!” Barbara stated. This peaked Sawyer's interest. 

”Son?” 

”Yep. His name is George. He'll be 10 this summer.” 

”Awww… Only child, I'm guessing?” 

”Yeah… but my husband Moses and I have been thinking about having another. But we just haven't gotten enough time for ourselves.” 

”At least you two have waited a bit, Barb.” Another female voice cut in. “George is definitely old enough to not be jealous of a new baby…” The two mothers looked over at the owner of the new voice, who was making her way over to them with an amused smirk. She had curly blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders, and was wearing a grey sweatshirt, pale blue jeans, and white sneakers. Following closely behind her, wearing a little pink dress, was an adorable little girl who was the spitting image of her mother, and looked close to Benny’s age. The blonde ruffled her daughter’s hair, getting an adorable giggle out of her. “Harold was only 4 when Heidi here was born, and he didn't quite understand why she was getting so much attention.” Barbara laughed at this. 

”Hi, Grace. I was just welcoming Sawyer and her two adorable kids here to the neighborhood.” 

”Hi. Sawyer Grayps. Nice to meet you!” Sawyer greeted. The other mom, Grace, smiled back and held out her hand, which Sawyer quickly shook. 

”Grace Hutchins.” She then motioned to the little girl next to her. “And this little angel is my daughter, Heidi.” 

Sawyer beamed and crouched down to the girl's eye level. “Hi, Heidi! It's really nice to meet you! And I love your dress!” Heidi smiled back. 

”Thanks! I like your jacket!” She replied, motioning to Sawyer's faux leather jacket. 

”Thank you!” Sawyer then stood back up and smiled at Grace as she motioned to her own children. “These two little monkeys are mine, Jade and Benny.” Grace smiled and gave them a small wave, which both returned. 

“I heard you mention a ‘Harold’…” Sawyer continued with a knowing smirk. “Your eldest, I assume?” 

”Yeah. He's 10 now.” 

”And George's best friend.” Barbara added fondly. “The two of them have been inseparable since kindergarten.” 

”Awwww…” Sawyer cooed. “I hope I get to meet them!” 

”Well, you probably won't until tomorrow.” Barbara stated. “They're up in the treehouse in our backyard at the moment.” 

”They go up there every day immediately after school.” Grace added with a chuckle. “And we usually won't see hide or hair of them until dinner time.” 

”You guys have a treehouse?” Jade perked up at this, catching the three mothers’ attention. 

”Cool!” Benny cheered. 

”I had always wanted a treehouse when I was a kid.” Sawyer reminisced. Barbara smiled and nodded towards the fence leading to her backyard. 

”You guys can look if you want.” The three of them didn't need to be told twice. The rushed over and peeked over the fence, catching a view of the treehouse. It was light blue with white trim, with a folding ladder as a means of entry, and in place of a door was a bedsheet with various brightly colored dinosaurs on them. And hanging on a further branch of the tree was a tire swing. 

”Oh, that is so cool…” Sawyer mused, as she managed to catch a glimpse of the two boys through the treehouse windows. One of them was the same chocolate brown as Barbara, had a crew cut, and was wearing a white, short sleeved, button-down shirt and a red and yellow diagonally striped tie. The other was wearing a green and white horizontally striped t-shirt, and had a head of the curliest blonde hair she had ever seen. They were both reading what looked like comic books, and were laughing so hard they looked like they were gonna fall over. Sawyer already liked these boys. Something told her that the two of them and Jade would be friends in no time. 

”That is the coolest treehouse ever!” Benny squealed. Jade couldn't help but nod in agreement. 

”Moses built it when we moved here.” Barbara explained. “He's very proud of it.” 

”And he has every right to be!” Sawyer grinned as they walked back over to their new neighbors. “No wonder those two practically live in there!” 

”Yeah, I honestly can't blame them, either…” Grace admitted. 

”Speaking of whom…” Sawyer continued. “I was able to catch a glimpse of them, and I gotta say, they are _adorable_!” 

”Thank you!” Barbara and Grace chorused. 

”So, George is the one with the tie and the flat-top, right?” Sawyer jokingly asked. Barbara giggled and nodded. Sawyer grinned. “So that makes Harold the one with the t-shirt and the wild haircut.” Grace just about doubled over with laughter at that. “Okay. I can remember that.” 

”Mom, the moving guys are done with the living room and kitchen stuff.” Jade said, tugging on her jacket sleeve. 

”Can we go pick out our rooms now?” Benny was hopping excitedly at this point. Sawyer laughed. 

”Okay, okay! You two go on in and pick your rooms. I'll be right in!” 

”YAY!” The two cheered as they sped into their new home. The three mothers let out light laughter at their eagerness. That's when Sawyer noticed someone was missing. 

”Hey, where’s Heidi?” 

”She went back inside while you and the kids were checking out the treehouse.” Grace explained. “ _Sailor Moon_ was gonna be on soon, and she didn't want to miss it.” 

”Oh, I know what that's like…” Sawyer smirked with a mix of amusement and understanding. 

”Actually, Sawyer...” Barbara started. “I've been meaning to ask; what made you want to move to Piqua, Ohio, of all places? I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious.” Sawyer smiled. 

”It's fine, Barbara.” She reassured. “To be perfectly honest, I grew up here, and I felt it'd be a great place for my kids to grow up. Also, a few of my brothers moved back here with their families, and I felt it'd be good to be closer to family.” 

”Those are some pretty solid reasons.” Grace agreed. “So, what are you doing for work?” 

”Well, my oldest brother works at the high school, and he told me that our old elementary school has an open art teacher position.” Sawyer explained. “So, I'm applying for that first thing tomorrow when I enroll Jade and Benny.” 

”Oh, I hope to God you get that job!” Barbara exclaimed. “That school could use someone like you there!” Grace nodded in agreement. 

”The boys were over the moon when the music and art programs were brought back! Especially Harold. He loves drawing.” Sawyer grinned at this little nugget of information. A kid after her own heart. She then frowned as an important question found its way back into her mind. 

”That reminds me… Do either of you know why the music and art programs were even shut down in the first place?” Barbara and Grace shrugged and shook their heads. 

”Not really.” 

”Sorry.” 

Sawyer sighed. “It was worth a shot.” 

Grace smiled, then jumped slightly as she glanced at her watch. “Jeez, is it that late already? Sorry, but I gotta get dinner started!” And with that she headed back to her house, but not without calling out over her shoulder, “It was nice meeting you!” 

”You too!” Sawyer called. 

”Well, Grace may have to get dinner ready, but I have to get ours out of the oven.” Barbara stated. “Again, it was wonderful meeting you. Welcome to the neighborhood, and I wish you luck on the job interview tomorrow!” 

”Thanks!” Sawyer replied. “I gotta go help set up my kids’ rooms, anyway. See you tomorrow?” 

”Oh, most definitely!” Barbara grinned as she headed back into her house. And with that, Sawyer headed in to help the movers with her children's furniture. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It had taken a few hours, but the family of three was finally situated in, and was now celebrating with a large order of pizza. 

”So, you two excited to check out your new school tomorrow?” Sawyer asked. 

”Yep!” Benny exclaimed as he took a large bite of his slice of pepperoni pizza. Jade, on the other hand, was absentmindedly nibbling on hers. 

”Jade? You okay?” 

”Huh?” Jade looked up with a start. “Oh. Yeah. I'm fine.” Sawyer gave her daughter her signature ‘I’m not buying it’ face. Jade sighed. “Okay, you got me. It's just… I was talking to Chance and Lance on the phone earlier, and Lance told me that the principal at our new school was mean. Like, _really_ mean…” Chance and Lance were Sawyer’s 13-year-old twin nephews. And while Chance was the more level-headed of the two, Lance, however, loved to freak out their younger cousins for cheap laughs, especially poor Jade. 

”I'm gonna need to have a word with that boy…” Sawyer muttered to herself with a sigh, before she turned to alleviate her daughter’s fears. “Honey, you know how Lance is. He was probably just exaggerating to try and scare you.” Jade still didn't look fully convinced. 

“But Mom, even _Chance_ warned me that he was mean! And he _never_ got in trouble at school!” Sawyer sighed, and did her best to alleviate her daughter’s anxiety. 

“Look, I'll be meeting the principal tomorrow when I enroll you and Benny, and apply for the art teacher job. I'll even introduce you guys. If you see that he's not that mean, will it make you feel a little better?” Jade mulled over this for a moment, then nodded. 

”A little…” She muttered. Sawyer smiled. 

”Great. Now after you two finish your pizza, I want you guys in your pjs, teeth brushed, and in bed, alright? It's gonna be a big day for all of us tomorrow!” 

”Okay.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Soon after tucking both of her children in and kissing them goodnight, Sawyer all but collapsed into her bed, exhausted from the day’s move. She glanced around her new room at the various boxes that contained smaller things of her and the kids’. She'll unpack those tomorrow. After the job interview. 

She couldn't help but think back to what her nephews had told Jade. Was the principal really that mean? She had heard from Vinnie that he was a might strict, but he never went as far to say that he was an actual monster. Not like their old principal from their days at Jerome Horwitz Elementary. Oh, but that was a whole different can of worms that she wasn't planning on opening tonight. 

Taking a deep breath to try and soothe the anxious butterflies in her stomach, Sawyer soon drifted off to sleep.


	3. Old School and an Old Friend

The drive to Jerome Horwitz Elementary the following day was calm but quiet. Sawyer took a deep breath. She wasn't going to lie to herself; she was nervous. It had been nearly 30 years since she set foot in her old grade school. She couldn't help but wonder how much of it had changed since she was gone. Was it still the same dull, boring, fun-draining place it was? Or had the school board finally developed more than two brain cells to rub together, and hired someone who was firm but fair to the kids? With her luck, it was most likely the former. 

And if that were the case, this school _really_ needed someone like her. 

Both Jade and Benny were uncharacteristically silent during the ride as well, most likely due to being nervous about going to a new school. They spent most of the ride mainly looking out the car windows at that the new surroundings that they were eventually going to grow accustomed to. 

It wasn't long before they reached the school, looking the same as it always did, albeit the bricks were a bit more faded with age. The family of three soon exited the car, and made their way up. That's when Jade and Benny noticed the school sign… and immediately burst into a giggle fit. 

”Ha ha… M-Mom… look! Ha ha!” 

Sawyer glanced over at the school sign, noticing some spare letters scattered on the ground, and just about burst out laughing herself when she saw what it said. 

**_OUR TEACHERS DON’T USE DEODORANT_**

It was blatantly obvious that this was the work of a prankster, but boy, did it ease the tension for the mother and kids. At the sight of it, Sawyer couldn't help but fondly think back to her days as a student, and how she used to do something similar. She was happy to see the next generation keeping up the tradition of using pranks to try to fight back against this boring old school, and most likely its principal. 

As the three walked in through the school's double doors, Sawyer began thinking about the current principal of the school… and how she knew next to _nothing_ about him! 

Vinnie, that damn tease. After he moved back to Piqua, he quickly dished to his little sister any dirt he had on the both the high school and the elementary school (mainly about how the principal of the high school was, as he put it, “A witch with a capital ‘B’”), but any time Sawyer asked about the new principal of their old grade school, he would cryptically dodge the question. All she knew was that the principal was a “he”, and that he was a bit on the strict side (and her nephews’ claims that he was “really mean”), but Vinnie refused to give her his name, no matter how much she persisted! 

”It would ruin the surprise!” He would always tell her. “Just be happy it's not still Rhant.” 

Oh, yes… Tyberius Rhant. Former principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary, and the man who made it his life’s mission to make every student in that school's life pure HELL. He hated anything and everything fun, and Sawyer was pretty much his mortal enemy because of this. She was a regular in his office in her grade school days, mainly for pulling crazy pranks just to make him miserable. Sawyer was over the moon when Vinnie told her he was no longer principal. If he was, she would have a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting this job. 

That is… if she gets this job at all. 

That was another thing she wasn't going to bother lying to herself about. This whole move/job opportunity was incredibly impulsive on her part. She didn't even have a solid chance of getting the job yet! What was she thinking, packing up her family and moving to another state just on a hopeful chance that she _might_ get a new job? 

_”I **wasn't** thinking…”_ She anxiously thought to herself as they moved down the hall, only to get launched out of these thoughts as she collided with someone. 

”Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” A timid voice with a slight southern twang exclaimed. 

”It's alright.” Sawyer assured. “I wasn't looking where I was going!” 

”I wasn't either. I need to be more careful…” 

”I was lost in my thoughts.” 

” _I need to get my head out of the clouds!_ ” Both voices said in unison, causing Sawyer to finally look at the owner of the other voice. Standing in front of her was a woman who looked just a bit younger than her. She was a bit on the heavier side, not overweight, but healthy. She was wearing a red dress with peach pink polka-dots, a white apron and yellow rubber gloves. Her skin was on the pale side, but with a healthy rosy tinge on her freckled cheeks. And her shoulder-length dark hair covered half of her face, showing one sapphire blue eye. 

Good lord, this lady was cute as a button. 

The two couldn't help but share a laugh at their unexpectedly shared train of thought. 

”Again, I'm sorry…” The woman started. “I was in a rush, and really should've looked where I was goin’…” 

”And again, it's fine!” Sawyer chuckled. “I wasn't looking where I was going, either. So we both goofed up.” The woman giggled in response. 

”I suppose that's true. I'm Edith, by the way…” 

”Sawyer.” 

”So, if you don't mind my askin’… what brings you here?” 

”I'm applying for the new art teacher position, and enrolling my two kids, Jade and Benny.” As Sawyer explained, she gestured to her kids. Benny waved enthusiastically at Edith, who giggled and waved back. 

”They're adorable!” She gushed. 

”Thanks!” Sawyer beamed. “And judging by the apron and rubber gloves, I'm guessing you're one of the school lunch ladies.” 

”Yep.” 

”You know… I was a student here when I was a kid, and I don't remember the lunch ladies ever being so cute.” Sawyer winked as Edith began to blush. Jade couldn't help but roll her eyes. _Here we go…_

”’Cute’? Me? Oh, my…” Edith stammered as she pushed her hair out of her face, showing her other eye, which was just as blue. Sawyer smiled at this. 

”And you're even cuter with your hair out of your face!” She complimented. “That way people can see both of those pretty blue eyes.” Edith's blush had increased tenfold at this point. Benny couldn't help but giggle. His mom always acted so silly when she met someone new. Jade, on the other hand, had a blush creeping onto her face for a whole different reason. She had seen enough romantic comedy movies with her aunt to know what was going on here. 

”Moooooom!” She groaned in embarrassment. “Please don't flirt with the lunch lady! Besides, I'm willing to bet that she has a boyfriend!” At this, Sawyer blushed almost as deeply as Edith. 

”Flirting? Honey, I'm not flirting! I was just trying to be nice!” She objected. Edith giggled. 

”It's okay. I knew what you meant.” She assured as her blush began to fade. “And, actually, your daughter's right. I do have a boyfriend. We've been dating for a month now.” 

”Awwwwwww!” Sawyer perked up at this. “I bet he's a cutie!” 

”He's a little rough around the edges…” Edith explained. “But he is such a sweetheart! Not to mention a total flirt from time to time! He called my eyes ‘striking’, once.” 

”Oh. He's good.” Sawyer remarked after letting out an impressed whistle. 

”Yeah he is…” Edith confirmed. “And to think, he takes time out of his busy schedule for someone like me. It’s a stressful job, bein’ the principal, and all…” 

”Hey, come on, why wouldn't he take time off to be with a sweetie like—“ Sawyer started, only for that last bit of Edith's statement to sink in. “Wait, ‘principal’? Your boyfriend is the principal?” Edith nodded. Sawyer now had another nugget of info on this oh-so-mysterious principal; he had an adorable girlfriend. 

Jade smiled a bit at this new information. If the principal was dating a sweet lady like this, he couldn't be that mean. Maybe her mom was right. Maybe Chance and Lance were just exaggerating. 

”Speaking of whom…” Sawyer continued. “I need to get to his office. I got a job interview to get to!” Edith smiled. 

”Go up the stairs on the right there, and it'll be right across the hall when you reach the top. You can't miss it.” 

”So, it's in the exact same place it's always been. Got it!” Sawyer joked. “Forgive me, it's been a VERY long time since I've been here.” Edith giggled again as the three headed up the stairs. 

”Good luck! I hope you get the job!” 

”Thanks! And same here!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The family soon entered the secretary's office, where they noticed the woman in question reading a magazine at her desk. Sawyer glanced around the room. The walls had been painted a new color since she was a student here. They used to be a faded and ugly pea soup green. Now, they were a greyish blue. She also noticed two chairs right next to the door to the principal's office, and above each chair was a plaque. One read, ‘ ** _Reserved for George_** ’, and the other, ‘ ** _Reserved for Harold_** ’. 

” _George and Harold?_ ” Sawyer mused to herself. She knew those names. “ _As in Barb and Grace’s boys? Looks like I'm not the only one who’s a regular at the principal’s office…_ ” 

That's when a muffled, but raised enough to be heard voice came out of the principal's office. And it sounded angry. _Oh, boy_. Sawyer quickly noticed Jade’s growing anxiety at this, and quickly held her hand in an attempt to alleviate her fears. As soon as Jade seemed to calm a bit, Sawyer motioned for her kids to sit in a couple of the chairs against the wall. As they did, she approached the desk. The secretary didn't look up from her magazine, so Sawyer cleared her throat to get her attention. She finally looked up. 

”Oh, sorry. How can I help you?” She droned. Sawyer blinked. 

”Um, hi… I'm Sawyer Grayps. I'm here to apply for the open art teacher position.” 

”Huh. You're the first.” That was a good sign. “Wait a moment. I’ll let him know you're here.” 

”Thank you!” Sawyer leaned against the desk and took in more of her surroundings… only to nearly fall over in surprise when she finally noticed the name on the door to the office. There on the door window, in bronze lettering, were two simple words, one of which hit Sawyer like a ton of bricks. 

**_Principal Krupp_**

”Mom?” Jade asked, noticing her mother’s stunned expression. “Are you okay?” But Sawyer was in such a state of shock, she couldn't hear her daughter's concerned queries. 

_Krupp_? 

No… 

It _couldn't_ be… 

Oh, she was going to have a LONG talk with Vinnie after this! 

”WHAT?!” A gruff voice could be heard through the door and over the secretary's speaker phone, pulling Sawyer out of her thoughts. 

”Sir, there's a woman here applying for the art teacher job.” The secretary explained. “I think she'd like to speak with you.” 

”Huh?” The principal’s voice replied, losing its gruff edge and sounding genuinely surprised. “But I haven't even made copies of… you know what, never mind. Send her in. Please.” 

Sawyer couldn't believe her ears. She hadn't heard that voice in what felt like forever, and yet… there it was. 

”Go on ahead.” The secretary told her, and went back to reading her magazine. 

”Huh? Oh! Okay.” Sawyer then looked at her children. “Just wait here. I’ll tell you when to come in, okay?” 

”Okay!” Benny replied. 

”Mom, are you okay?” Jade asked again. 

”I'm fine, honey.” Sawyer reassured with a grin. “In fact… It's been a while since I've felt this good about something.” And with that, she headed towards the office, and opened the door to see just what was going on in there. 

The first thing she noticed were two very familiar boys sitting in the two plastic chairs in front of the large desk. The one on the left was wearing a tie and had a flat-top. And the one on the right was wearing a t-shirt and had a wild haircut. Yep, it was definitely her new neighbors, George and Harold. Then she got a good look at the man sitting at the desk in front of them. He was heavyset, and wearing a white button-down with a brown tie, and had a blatantly obvious dark brown toupee. He looked very angry and incredibly stressed out, but despite the huge scowl on his face, she recognized him in nearly an instant. 

Benjamin Krupp. 

She stayed silent as she listened in on the conversation with the two boys. 

”This is the third time this week that you two have disrupted your classes with your little pranks!” He scolded gruffly. “Do you two… _enjoy_ tormenting me like this? Do you hate me?” 

”On the contrary, Sir.” George stated. 

”We only have the highest respect for you!” Harold added smoothly. 

”That's a lie, and you and I all know it!” Ben clearly wasn't buying it. Sawyer silently giggled to herself. This scene looked very familiar. 

”I have literally tried _everything_ with you two!” The principal frustratedly continued. “Detentions, separate classes… and STILL you two manage to drive me crazy!” 

Oh, that sounded WAY too familiar. Ben was clearly about to blow a gasket here, so that's when Sawyer decided to finally make herself known. 

”Well, well, well…” she spoke with a smirk, catching the three’s attention. “Seems like only yesterday that you and I were sitting in those very two chairs, while ol’ Rhanty went on another one of his famous tirades! And now look at us… hopeful art teacher and principal of Jerome Horwitz Elementary. It's amazing what time does, huh?” 

George and Harold looked at her in confusion. Who was this lady? Their confusion only grew as they noticed the look on their principal’s face. His jaw had gone slack, and his eyes were the size of dinner plates. They had never seen him this caught off-guard before. It felt like an eternity before he finally found his voice again. 

“… _Sawyer_?” The woman in question couldn't stop the tears in her eyes at this point. 

”Hi, Benny…”


	4. Mr. Krupp has a Best Friend?!

The next few seconds were a blur for Benjamin Krupp. One moment, he was at his desk, staring in shock at a woman he had not seen in years. Then it was like he blinked, and suddenly he was right where she was, laughing with her and the two of them hugging each other with such intensity, that it was almost as if they both feared the other would disappear if they let go. And why was his face wet all of a sudden? 

”Awww, you big lug.” Sawyer remarked, her voice thick and eyes glistening as she reached up to brush away his tears. “I missed you, too…” 

”What are you doing here?” He finally managed to choke out as they released each other from the hug. Sawyer smiled and put a hand on her hip. 

”What's it look like? I'm applying for a job!” She winked. “I hear this school needs a new art teacher?” 

”But I haven't even made copies of the flyer yet, let alone put them up!” He stated. “How could you have possibly…?” He trailed off as realization sunk in, and couldn't help but smirk as he shook his head with a sigh. “Vinnie told you, didn't he?” Sawyer's smile grew. 

”Yep.” Then her face grew serious. “And I am going to have a _long_ talk with him about how he ‘failed to mention’ _who the principal was!_ ” Krupp did a double take at this. 

”Wait… _he never told you?_ ” 

”Nearly ten years he managed to keep this from me! _Ten. Years!_ ” Sawyer continued to rant. “And every time I'd ask him, he'd say the same thing; ‘I don't wanna ruin the surprise!’ And if that wasn't enough, he somehow managed to get _his sons_ in on it! You had the twins as students, and no matter how I tried to bribe them, they wouldn't tell me either! Ooooh, I'm gonna get him back SO HARD for this!” 

“You know, I'm kind of impressed that he managed to keep this from you for this long!” He couldn't help but remark. “Out of all your brothers, Vinnie was _the worst_ at keeping secrets. Especially from you. You'd always find a way to pry it out of him.” Sawyer took a deep breath. 

”Well, he was right about one thing.” She admitted, a small smile on her face. “It was certainly a surprise.” 

”And it's certainly a surprise seeing you.” Krupp replied, not being able to help smiling himself. And with that, he pulled her in for another hug, which she returned wholeheartedly. “God, I missed you.” He muttered. 

”Yeah, the fact that we practically tackled each other with a hug kinda gave me that impression.” Sawyer lovingly snarked, which made the two of them start laughing again. 

”Um… excuse me?” 

The young voice made the two old friends freeze as they remembered they weren't the only ones in the office. They slowly released each other from their hug once again as they looked at the two boys still sitting in the plastic chairs, now looking more confused than they had ever been in their young lives. The one who had spoken up was George, who had his hand up to get their attention. 

“Two questions, Mr. Krupp.” He continued. “One; is this lady an old girlfriend of yours, or something?” 

“And two…” Harold added in. “Does Miss Edith know about her?” 

“ _Girlfriend?!_ ” Ben and Sawyer repeated incredulously, as they looked at each other, then at George and Harold for a long while, and then back to each other… before bursting into hysterical laughter. 

“HAHAHA—Y-you think that she and I—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

“Oh-oh god, my si-hi-hi-hides! AHAHAHAHAHAAA! Oh, my ribs hurt!” 

The two laughed for a few good solid minutes, leaving George and Harold in even more confusion. Finally, the laughter died down, leaving the two adults breathing heavily and wiping at their eyes. 

“Oh, I needed a good laugh this morning!” Sawyer exclaimed as she looked at the two boys, still grinning. “That was perfect! And to answer your question, no, I'm definitely not Ben’s old girlfriend. He's more like a brother to me than anything!” 

“Huh?” The two young friends were now completely lost at this point. Who the heck _was_ this lady? Mr. Krupp cleared his throat in an attempt to sound more authoritative again. 

“George, Harold, this is Sawyer Grayps.” He explained as he introduced her to the two. “She's a very close friend of mine.” 

“‘Close’? Benny, please, don't be so modest!” Sawyer smirked with a wink. “I believe the correct term you're looking for is ‘best friend’! For Pete’s sake, we've known each other since preschool.” 

“ _ **WHAT?!**_ ” George and Harold shrieked in complete shock, the latter completely falling out of his chair. Mr. Krupp actually had a friend? Not just that, a _best friend_? Just the month prior, the two boys had caught a glimpse of their principal's everyday life, and just how lonely it was. Before now, the very idea of him having even one friend to speak of seemed impossible to them. And yet, here she was, in the flesh. To further illustrate her point, Sawyer reached into the pocket of her overalls and pulled out her wallet, then opening it to reveal an old, faded photograph, yellowed with age. 

“See for yourself.” Harold got up off the floor as he and George took a closer look. In the photo were two kids about their age, a girl and a boy, with their arms around each other's shoulders. The little girl had freckles and dirty blonde hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She also had a bandage on one of her knees and it was clear that she had recently lost a tooth. This was obviously Sawyer when she was young. The boy, on the other hand, looked shockingly familiar, yet at the same time, almost unrecognizable. He was a bit on the chubby side, and had a mop of shaggy dark brown hair that nearly covered his eyes. But his smile was what really grabbed your attention. It was an innocent, friendly, but somewhat confident grin that could've outshone the sun. George and Harold had seen that smile many times now… usually when someone snapped their fingers. 

“No way…” George breathed out. 

“You had _hair_?!” Harold exclaimed, much to Mr. Krupp's chagrin. Sawyer let out a good natured chuckle as she closed her wallet, which was quickly pocketed. She then playfully tousled his toupee. 

“Come on, you two, don't tease him. I, for one, think bald guys can be very distinguished.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Mr. Krupp asked with a smirk. “Name _one_.” 

“My grandfather.” Sawyer answered with no hesitation. Mr. Krupp blinked for a moment. 

“…Damn it, that's a good answer!” He grumbled. Sawyer grinned cheekily. 

“Come on, I'm sure _Edith_ doesn't mind that you don't have hair.” She playfully teased, waggling her eyebrows as Krupp blushed. “Speaking of which, when were you gonna tell me that you have a girlfriend now?!” She was bouncing on her toes excitedly at this point. Krupp's blush only deepened. 

“You… you already met Edith?” He stammered. Sawyer nodded with a smirk. 

“I literally bumped into her when I got here.” She explained. “And I gotta say, Ben… you have good taste. She is a sweetheart! And cute as a button, to boot! And really, do I even need to mention those beautiful blue eyes?” Krupp let out a small laugh, his entire face a vibrant pink at this point. 

“Heh, thanks, Sawyer…” 

"And knowing there's a sweet gal like her working in this cafeteria, I might actually eat the food here for once!" 

"Oh, here we go..." His blush finally faded as he rolled his eyes, and couldn't help but grin. 

"I'm telling you, Benny, that food was radioactive!" Sawyer protested. "I saw it glowing once!" 

"Radioactive?" Harold couldn't help but ask. 

"When we were kids, Sawyer was convinced that the lunch ladies made the cafeteria food out of toxic waste or something." Their principal explained to them. "So she refused to eat it. Always packed her own lunch." 

"No way was I eating that stuff." Sawyer stated. "I'd seen enough Sci-Fi movies to know it wasn't worth the risk of possibly growing a third arm or a second head!" 

"Or who knows?" Mr. Krupp joked. "If you did eat it, it might've worked more along the lines of comic book logic, and given you superpowers!” George and Harold couldn't help but share a knowing look with each other at this. 

_“Bub, you have no idea…”_ They both thought to themselves, as flashes of them gripping onto a familiar red cape for dear life as they sped through the night sky went through their minds. 

“Hmmmm… thought about that, but I still wasn't gonna risk it.” Sawyer admitted after a thoughtful look crossed her face. She then looked at the two boys. “Would you two say that the food here has changed since then?” 

“Well, it's definitely not radioactive now, if that's what you're asking!” Harold said rather hastily. Sawyer raised an eyebrow and glanced at George, silently asking him to elaborate. 

“The mystery meat is unidentifiable, the burgers and hot dogs need to be drowned in ketchup and mustard if you want any flavor, the pizza is basically cheese and sauce baked on cardboard, and the chicken nuggets bounce like they were made of rubber.” 

“So it's pretty much like any other cafeteria, now. Got it. Well, I definitely feel better!” She grinned, then added with a mutter, “At least I know if I do get this job, I won't have to pack my own lunch everyday…” 

“‘ _If_ you get the job’?” Krupp interrupted. “Sawyer, I already decided you were hired the second you walked through that door!” 

“What?” Sawyer was relieved, yet at the same time couldn't believe her ears. “I haven't even pulled out my resume yet!” 

“I don't need to see it, because I know you.” He explained. “Sawyer, I can't think of a better person in this town to be an art teacher. You were always the most creative person I know. Heck, you even tried to teach me to draw, even though my art skills sucked!” 

“I remember that first attempt at a self portrait…” she giggled fondly. “It looked more like a baby chicken than a little boy… but it was still cute!” 

“Not to mention, I know for a fact that you're a mother.” He continued. “Who can better handle a bunch of rowdy kids than someone who has kids herself?” Sawyer smiled at this. 

“Speaking of whom...” She started. “I need to enroll my kids here as students, since I’m an official faculty member, now. Plus, they wanted to meet you.” 

“Wait... you mean you brought your kids with you?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Hey Jade, what’cha doin’?” 

“I’m trying to hear what Mom and the principal are talking about, Benny.” Not long after their mother had gone into the principal’s office, Jade had her ear pressed against the door, trying to hear the conversation. “I can’t really make out the words, but I did hear them laughing a couple times, so I’m guessing it’s good. Why? You getting bored waiting for Mom?” 

“Kinda...” Her little brother replied, sounding a bit sheepish. 

“There’s a Superman comic in my backpack.” She whispered with an understanding smile. “I brought it just in case.” 

“Thanks... but I already found one!” 

“Wait, what?” Jade finally looked over from the door to see Benny reading what looked to be a homemade comic book, with a bright orange cover. “Where’d you get that?” 

“Right there!” Benny pointed to the small shelf next to his chair. One of the students must’ve left it there. He then held up the comic for his sister to see. “It’s really funny!” Jade cracked a grin at the image on the cover. It was of a bald, chubby guy wearing nothing but underwear and a red cape, fighting what appeared to be a giant toilet robot. Standing on top of the robot was a tiny old man, who bore a striking resemblance to Albert Einstein, wearing a purple suit. She then read the title aloud. 

“ _‘Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants’_...” She let out a very unladylike snort at the villain’s name. Whoever came up with this comic had a very interesting sense of humor. “So, what’s it about?” Before he could answer, the office door opened, causing Jade, who was still leaning on it, to fall forward, landing at the feet of their mother. She looked up and smiled sheepishly. 

“Heh heh... hey, Mom. How’d it go?”


	5. A Voice From The Past

“I told you guys to wait for me.” An amused Sawyer told her daughter with a shake of her head and a grin. Jade stood up and brushed herself off, a slight blush of embarrassment becoming apparent on her face. 

“Sorry, Mom... I just wanted to know how it was going.” She started as she walked into the office. “You looked really shocked when you saw the name on the door. And even though you said it was okay, I was still nervous for you.” Sawyer’s smile softened as she crouched down to her daughter’s eye level. 

“Sweetie, I know you were just making sure I was okay, but you don’t have to worry about me so much. I’m a big girl.” She briefly flexed her arm, then tousled Jade’s hair. “I’m tough enough to not just take care of myself, but you and your brother, too.” 

“I know...” Jade replied, her blush finally fading. She then looked up, finally noticing the rather large man standing behind her mother, and shyly inched behind Sawyer’s legs as she stood back up, almost as if trying to make herself less noticeable, yet at the same time never taking her eyes off him. Sawyer couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Jade, it’s okay. This is Principal Krupp. He’s actually a very dear friend of mine. We’ve known each other since we were kids.” Jade’s shoulders relaxed a bit at this, yet she still didn’t take her eyes off of him. Mr. Krupp stared back, a bit perplexed. 

“...Are we having a staring contest?” 

Jade didn’t answer, and _still_ refused to take those unblinking green eyes, that matched her namesake, off him. Despite being slightly unnerved by her constant stare, he didn’t show it as he smirked with amusement and gave her a small wink. 

“Because if we are... you’re definitely winning.” At this, Jade finally cracked a smile and let out a small giggle. George and Harold were in complete shock. When it came to Krupp, being friendly towards students that weren’t either on the honor roll or related to him by blood, was about as rare as a white tiger. In the years they had known him, they could count on one hand the amount of times that he was ever genuinely nice to them. Sure, he put up a polite front when a student’s parents were around, but this was different. There was no forced smile, no struggle to think of something nice to say... he was downright casual and actually making jokes to help this girl feel comfortable. It was like the two boys had blinked and were suddenly in a Bizarro world! 

Jade finally inched out from behind her mom’s legs as Krupp surprisingly knelt down to meet her eye level. She then shyly held out her hand. 

“Um... it’s nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too.” He chuckled in response as her shook her hand. After letting go of her hand, the girl tilted her head inquisitively and squinted her eyes, as if studying him. He looked back at her in confusion. 

“Hmmmm...” 

“What?” 

“You look familiar...” 

“Wait, you recognize him?” Sawyer was a bit surprised at this, as was Krupp. Jade shrugged. 

“Kinda...” 

“I honestly didn’t think you’d remember me.” Krupp couldn’t help but smirk. “You weren’t even five yet the last time I saw you.” He stood back up and looked at Sawyer. “Not to mention it was pretty hectic that night in the hospital.” 

“Hospital?” George echoed, that last word catching both of the boys’ attention. 

“Why were you at the hospital?” Harold asked Sawyer, his voiced edged with concern. “Were you hurt?” 

“No, no, I was fine!” She quickly dissuaded his fears. “Actually, it was a very special time that day. You see, it was—” She didn’t even get to finish her sentence, as a giggling blue-and-red blur suddenly sped into the office, and latched onto Krupp’s leg like a baby koala, much to the shock of everyone. 

It was a little boy, who looked to be about kindergarten age, with freckles and unruly black hair. He was also wearing a blue-and-white jersey, with red shorts and white sneakers. George and Harold’s eyes widened at the boy’s boldness, and they tried their hardest not to laugh at the utterly befuddled look on their principal’s face as the child grinned up at him, showing the gap where one of his front baby teeth used to be. He looked at the boy attached to his leg for a moment, then looked at Sawyer, who let out a small chuckle as she closed the office door. 

“It was the night that this little guy was born.” 

“Hi, Mr. Benny!” The little boy greeted, beaming. Krupp did a double take at this. 

“He... he knows my name?” He asked. Sawyer couldn’t help but laugh at this, and shot him a wink. 

“What? You think I never told my son about the best friend I named him after?” She asked. She then walked over to him, crouched down, and tickled her son’s sides. The boy, Benny, squealed with laughter as he let go of Krupp’s leg and was lifted up into his mother’s arms. The corners of Mr. Krupp’s mouth twitched a bit as he looked at the still giggling boy in her arms. 

“Jeez, you’ve gotten big.” He murmured with a small grin. Benny beamed back at him. “You were so tiny the last time I saw you. You weren’t even a day old.” He chuckled breathlessly. “Has it really been five years...?” Then, much to his surprise, Benny reached out to him with both arms. Sawyer grinned slyly. 

“I think someone wants to give you a hug.” Krupp paled a bit at this. 

“Sawyer, I don’t know.” He held is hands up defensively. “I’m not the best with little kids.” 

“My foot, you’re not!” Sawyer lightly objected. “You honestly think I forgot that you have a nephew that you used to babysit? Which reminds me, how old is Kipper now?” 

“Sixtee—HEY!” He loudly protested as Sawyer saw her opportunity and hefted Benny into his arms, him quickly moving to support the little guy. He looked incredibly awkward as Benny once again grinned up at him. George and Harold could not hold in their giggles this time, and neither could Jade. 

“See?” Sawyer asked fondly. “You’re great with him!” 

“...That was a dirty move, Sawyer.” He glanced back at her, unamused. A shrug and a cheeky grin was the only response from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jade shyly looking at the boys. Harold noticed this as well, and walked up to her, giving her a friendly smile. 

“Hi, I’m Harold. Harold Hutchins.” He then gestured behind him. “And the boy over there is my best friend, George Beard.” George waved to her as he introduced him. Harold then held out his hand to her. “It’s nice to meet you.” Jade looked at his hand, then looked back at her mother, unsure of what to do. Sawyer gave her a small nod. Jade took a deep breath, looked back at the boys, and shook Harold’s hand, then George’s. 

“My name’s Jade. Jade Grayps. It’s nice to meet you, too.” She then glanced at her brother. “That’s my little brother, Benny, and...” she glimpsed Sawyer smiling at them. “I’m guessing you’ve already met my mom.” 

“Pretty much.” 

“I actually heard quite a bit about you two yesterday.” said Sawyer. “It’s nice to finally meet you boys face to face!” 

“Wait... what?” George asked. Harold was just as confused. 

“How do you know about us?” 

“I met your mothers yesterday when we were settling in.” Sawyer explained. “You two were already in your treehouse.” Realization dawned on George’s face. 

“Wait... _you’re_ our new neighbors?” 

“You live next door to _them_?” Krupp blanched at this information and groaned. “Oh, Sawyer, I’m so sorry.” She rolled her eyes at this. 

“Oh, quit being such a drama king, Ben!” 

**_RIIIIIIING!_**

The sudden sound of the phone ringing nearly made everyone jump out of their skin. Krupp quickly handed Benny back to Sawyer as he headed to his desk and answered. 

“Principal Krupp speaking.” He barely got to finish as whoever was on the other end screeched back at him, causing him to hold the phone at a good distance from his ear. “Just a moment, Sir, I need to put you on speakerphone. I’m doing some paperwork.” Before doing so, he quickly put a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion to tell everyone else in the office to stay quiet as he pulled a piece of paper from his desk. Sawyer and the four kids all nodded in compliance. While briefly surprised that even _George and Harold_ listened to him for once, he then pushed a button on the phone and put the receiver back on the hook. “Okay you’re good.” 

“ _KRUPP!_ ” A gruff, older voice roared at him. “ _ARE THE PREPARATIONS READY FOR THIS WEEKEND?_ ” Krupp winced at the loudness of the man’s voice, as George, Jade, and Benny covered their ears. Sawyer tensed up, as well, but more in shock and anger. She _knew_ that voice anywhere, and she hated it. 

“Yes, Mr. Rhant.” Krupp continued, confirming her suspicions. “Everything has been arranged for your retirement party this Saturday.” Sawyer let out a small breath of relief at this. She didn’t have to work with him, thank goodness. 

“ _GOOD!_ ” Mr. Rhant answered. “ _AND REMEMBER; ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND FACULTY!_ ” Krupp swallowed a groan at this, as Sawyer and Harold gave off exasperated expressions. 

“Yes, Sir...” 

“ _AND KRUPP?_ ” He warned. “ _NO FUNNY BUSINESS. I MEAN IT!_ ” 

“Mr. Rhant, please,” Krupp reassured. “Those days have been long behind me, you know that!” 

_“Maybe, but the same can’t be said for **me**.”_ Sawyer thought to herself. 

“ _THEY’D BETTER BE, KRUPP! I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THAT!_ ” 

“Of course you did, Sir. See you this Saturday.” Krupp hung up, and finally let out the frustrated groan he had building up the entire time as he face-planted into his desk. George, Jade, and Benny finally uncovered their ears. 

“Who the heck was that hardcase?” asked Harold. 

“And how is he still alive?!” Sawyer exclaimed. “He’s gotta be close to what, 75 by now?” Krupp finally lifted his head off the desk. 

“You know him, Sawyer, he’s too stubborn to die. That probably why the School Board is forcing him to retire from the Superintendent position.” Sawyer put Benny down, then began to massage her temples in frustration. 

“Who the heck was crazy enough to make HIM Superintendent?” 

“Make WHO Superintendent?” Harold asked again, seeing as how his first question went unanswered. Sawyer looked at him. 

“That, Harold, was a Mr. Tyberius Rhant.” She explained. “Or, as I liked to call him when I was your age, _“The Principal from H-E-Double-Hockey Sticks”_.” The kids’ eyes all widened. 

“That was your old principal?!” George and Harold shrieked. 

“Yikes...”Jade murmured and held Benny’s hand as he started to shiver. 

“You can say that again.” Krupp agreed. “He was the scariest individual to walk the halls of this school when we were students here. When you got sent to his office, all the other kids looked at you as if you were a dead man walking!” 

“He’s not joking about that last part!” Sawyer elaborated. “The first time that I got sent to his office, I passed a couple of first-graders in the hallway. One began crying, and the other started _praying_ for me!” 

George and Harold audibly gulped at this. Sure, Krupp was a real piece of work, and feared by a good majority of the student body, but being sent to his office was more like an inconvenience and a strong need for earplugs to everyone at this point. The fact that kids back then dreaded going to _this guy’s_ office made him sound like an outright MONSTER in comparison! 

“Wh-What did you get sent to his office for?” Harold couldn’t help but ask. Sawyer rolled her eyes at the memory. 

“I blew a raspberry at someone. I even wound up in detention because of it!” 

“That’s _it_?!” George and Jade exclaimed. Harold and Benny were just as gob-smacked. 

“According to the teacher, I “spit in the kid’s face”.” She continued, sarcastically using her fingers as quotations on that last part. 

Jade gave her mother a look that said, “Are you kidding me?”, as George facepalmed, and Harold shook his head in disbelief. The teachers here could be strict when it came to discipline, but THAT was just ridiculous! 

“And while we're on the subject, if you don't mind my asking…” she continued, looking at the two boys. “What are you two in for?” 

“Sawyer, you are looking at the two biggest pranksters in this school.” Mr. Krupp groaned. “For four long years, it's been prank after prank with them! I have tried everything, but they just won't stop!” 

“‘The two biggest pranksters in the school’, huh?” Sawyer repeated with a chuckle. “Funny… I seem to recall that being _our_ undisputed title.” 

“Wait… _what did you just say?_ ” George gaped. Sawyer gave a Cheshire grin at Krupp. 

“Do you wanna tell them, or should I?” 

“Sawyer, please don’t...” 

“Please tell us!” Harold said, his principal’s pleas going unheeded. Sawyer walked over to Krupp and put an arm around his shoulder as he put a hand over his face, which was going redder with embarrassment by the second. 

“Gentlemen, you two are looking at one of the biggest pranksters in the history of Jerome Horwitz Elementary!” She then pointed to herself with her thumb. “And his partner-in-crime!” 

George and Harold gaped at the two, especially Krupp. 

“A prankster?! YOU?!” 

“You’re kidding...” 

“Nope!” Sawyer’s grin was practically ear-to-ear at this point. “We were a couple of the best! Heck, some of our best pranks were HIS idea!” 

“Mom, tell them about the one with the lockers!” Jade intervened excitedly. “That one’s our favorite!” 

“Oh, yeah... that was one of my favorites, as well.” She remembered fondly. She then looked at Krupp, who had lowered his hand from his face. “C’mon, Ben, you remember; you, me, the boys’ locker room, a couple straws, and several cans of shaving cream...” 

Much to the boys’ surprise, Krupp actually smiled. 

“Rhant never could prove it was us. But we still got a week’s worth of detention.” 

“And grounded or a month...” Sawyer added sheepishly. 

“But it was worth it.” He then cleared his throat. “So, if we’re done with this bit of reminiscing, Sawyer,” he waved a pen and the piece of paper he pulled out of his desk earlier, and she could see that it actually was paperwork. “How ‘bout we make it official?” She smiled, and quickly signed where she needed to, as did he. He then pulled out an ink stamp and pressed it down on the paper. The word ‘ **APPROVED** ’ looked back up at her in what might’ve been the most beautiful shade of red she had ever seen. She was officially working with her best friend now. 

_“Oh, Rhanty is gonna **hate** this...”_ She thought gleefully. Then, an idea began to form in her head. 

“Hey boys?” She asked, bringing George and Harold, who were near-catatonic from all the new information they had just learned about their principal, back to reality. “Since you two seem to know this school like the backs of your hands, think you could show my kids around while I have a talk with your principal?” They looked back at her. 

“Um...” 

“Okay.” 

Sawyer had Krupp write them a pass, just in case they were stopped by a teacher, and out the four kids went, and she shut the office door behind them. 

“So, Benny...” she started. “About this retirement party for Rhant...” 

“Technically, he already retired this past week, but you know how he is. Has it make it all about himself.” Krupp rolled his eyes. 

“He said on the phone that student and faculty attendance is mandatory, correct?” 

“Yep.” He grumpily confirmed. “He just had to get in one last Saturday to make us all miserable...” 

“Well, since you just signed that paperwork, that officially makes me part of the faculty, right?” She then gave a cheeky smirk like a cat who just cornered a canary. Krupp’s face paled slightly, and he he bit his lip as he realized what she was planning. 

“Sawyer... **no**.” He protested. “I _know_ that look, Sawyer! Don’t even THINK about it!” Her smirk only grew, making it even harder for him to keep a straight face himself. 

“Aw, c’mon, Benny.” She teased. “Don’t ya think it’d be a great retirement present for Ol’ Rhanty to see his _favorite_ student again?” 

“‘Favorite student’?!” He could no longer hold in the laughter at this point. “Sawyer, you and I both know that Rhant _hated_ you!” 

“And the feeling was mutual.” Her voice took on a surprisingly serious edge. Krupp raised an eyebrow at this, but decided it best not to press further. 

“You heard him, Sawyer! No funny business!” 

“No funny business from _you_ , Benny. He doesn’t know about _me_. And since he’s no longer your boss, you have nothing to worry about!” 

Krupp opened his mouth to retort, but quickly shut it when he realized that she had a point. For the first time in what felt like decades... _Rhant didn’t have power over him any more_. Sawyer then held up a hand. 

“So? You with me or what?” 

Krupp looked at her hand for a moment, then smiled and locked his hand with hers as if they were arm wrestling. 

“Okay... I’m in.”


	6. “Freaks” of a Feather Stick Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a warning for this chapter: there are moments of bullying, fighting, and brief mentions of blood and vomit. You have been warned.  
> On another note, Good Lord almighty, is this my longest chapter to date! Over SEVEN PAGES! I hope you guys enjoy!  
> Also, the AMAZING character of Nurse Offstill belongs to my good friend guiltyhipster on Tumblr.

It had been about ten minutes since the four had left Krupp’s office, and the two friends had managed to show their new classmates quite a lot of the school already. They had now headed downstairs for the first floor. They then stopped at the entrance to a large room with several tables and chairs. 

“Here we have the Cafeteria.” Harold explained. Jade and Benny’s eyes grew wide. This place was almost twice as big as the cafeteria at their old school. 

_“And probably twice as loud, too...”_ Jade thought to herself with a small flinch. “Not bad.” She then said aloud. Harold shrugged as they started to head further down the hall. 

“Yeah... while the food could be better, at least Miss Edith’s nice.” He and George then got excited looks on their faces as they reached a pair of double doors. 

“And this... is the Art Room!” George threw open the doors of the classroom to show the two new students what was easily his and Harold’s favorite place in the whole school. “Also known as the place where your mom’s gonna be teaching everybody!” Jade let out a small gasp. The room was amazing! A few round tables were scattered about, with about five or six chairs at each one. There were also some easels, and along the countertops was colored paper, paints, markers, and colored pencils of every color and shade she could think of! It was so vibrant and colorful compared to the cold and rather drab hallways and classrooms. Her mom was gonna be in Heaven here! 

“It’s perfect...” She whispered. Benny was beaming at this point. He excitedly began bouncing on his toes. 

“Mommy’s gonna love it!” He squealed. 

“And the Music Room’s down that way.” Harold pointed down the main hall not far from the entrance. “Wanna see it?” 

“Yeah!” Benny took off in a blink, headed for the Music Room, with the other three kids not too far behind. He quickly opened the door and quickly gravitated to the instruments, curiously playing each one. Jade waited outside the room as George and Harold followed him in. She smiled at the different sounds of the instruments, only to wince slightly as shrill metallic dinging filled the air, followed by her brother’s giggles. She rolled her eyes and silently chuckled to herself. Benny had found a triangle. That was his favorite instrument next to the drums. It was gonna take George and Harold quite a bit to pry that away from him. So, she decided to explore a bit while they tried to do that. 

She wandered closer to the main entrance and glanced out one of the large windows next to the doors, noticing that it looked like it was going to rain soon. But that wasn’t the sight that made her stop in her tracks. 

She could see three older boys standing out in the front yard, their backs to her. What were they doing? They looked like they were talking... no... _yelling_ at someone. She stood on the tips of her toes and squinted as she pressed herself closer to the window, trying her hardest to see what they were doing, or who they were talking to. Finally, a fourth boy was shoved into her view. 

He looked to be about her age, with red hair and round glasses, from what she could see. He was wearing a sweater vest, a bow tie, and shorts. Everything about his outfit screamed “Nerd”, but she didn’t care about that. And as he shakily stood and inched away from them, it was clear that the poor guy was a _mess_. He was covered in mud and his hair was unkempt. Jade could feel her face turning red. If there was one thing she hated, it was bullying. 

“Jade? What is it?” George asked. He and Harold had managed to convince Benny to put the triangle back where he found it in the Music Room, and the three were now headed over to her. She was so focused on the sight in front of her to answer him. Her hands clenched into fists on the window as she continued to watch. 

She couldn’t hear what the boy was saying, but it was clear that he wanted nothing to do with these three punks. But they were having none of that. The punk in the middle started yelling at the younger boy, much more fiercely this time, marched right up to him... and punched him right back to the ground, breaking his glasses. The punk’s two punky friends started laughing. The boy got up on his hands and knees, shaking... only for the punk to kick him in the side, knocking him back down. 

Oh, that was **it**! Without a word, Jade bolted out the front doors. She could feel the rain begin to fall as she, despite George and Harold’s protests, ran towards the four boys as fast as she could, practically leap-frogged over the main punk, and placed herself between the red-haired boy and them, fists raised and eyes blazing. 

“ _Leave. Him. **Alone**._ ” 

The three older boys stared at her, clearly confused. The main punk, who had dirty blonde hair, and was wearing a black t-shirt with a skull on it and army camo shorts, glared back at her. 

“What was that, girly?” 

“You heard me!” Jade could now feel the eyes of the boy on her. She looked back at him and gave him a smile. Now that she could see him up close, she saw that he had a bloody nose, his pale freckled face was beginning to bruise, and his glasses were utterly shattered beyond repair. Despite all this, he looked at her in complete awe. No one had ever stood up for him like this before. Who was this girl? 

“Look, girly,” One of the punk’s two friends, a boy with olive skin in an open flannel shirt over a white tank top, stepped up to her as she glared up at him. He then blew his long, shaggy black bangs out of his eyes. “Obviously you’re new here, so here’s how things work; nobody tells Butch Thompson what to do!” 

“Yeah!” said Butch’s other friend, a pale boy wearing a black beanie over his curly brown hair and a grey hoodie. 

“Manny, Greg, shut up.” Butch barked. 

“Sorry...” Manny and Greg stepped back behind Butch with their tails between their legs. Butch then glared daggers at Jade. 

“Get lost, girly. This is between us and the freak.” 

Jade could see the boy flinch at this out of the corner of her eye, which only made her blood boil. She continued to stand her ground. 

“What the heck did he ever do to you?!” She demanded. The rain had turned into a downpour at this point. 

“He’s a tattletale!” Butch yelled. “Do you know how many detentions I’ve gotten ‘cause of him?” 

“Not to mention he’s an annoying know-it-all!” Greg added. “Always going around acting all high and mighty just because he thinks he’s smarter and mature-er than everybody else!” 

_“It’s ‘more mature’, not ‘mature-er’.”_ Jade thought to herself, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. 

“And he’s a total freak!” Manny exclaimed. “He doesn’t laugh at anything! Like, at all!” 

“So? That’s no reason to gang up on him!” Jade yelled, her fists starting to tremble. If these guys didn’t back off this poor kid, she was gonna do something she’d regret. 

“He’s had it coming!” Butch said smugly. “Especially after what he pulled last month!” This caught her interest, but she was more concerned about getting the boy away from these guys. “So you better back off, you little bi—!” 

Jade’s threw her fist at his face as hard as she could before he could even finish, managing to leave a good chip on one of his front teeth. She then shook the soreness out of her hand as he stumbled back. 

“You kiss your mom with that mouth?” 

“YOU ARE THO DEAD!” Butch roared, the chip in his tooth causing a noticeable lisp in his voice. Manny and Greg then charged at her. Jade first elbowed Manny in the stomach, then brought her elbow up, impacting with his chin. Then as Greg got close enough, she kicked him in the nose, leaving it good and bloodied, before launching herself at Butch again, her fists flying wildly. They struggled in the muddy grass, her hair at one point coming loose from her ponytail after he yanked at it. 

In retaliation, she managed to get some decent hits in before Butch’s fist connected with her left eye, knocking her flat on her back. That was gonna leave a bruise, for sure. Manny and Greg watched in horror as he stood over her and kicked her good and hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He then reared his fist back to bring his fury down on her once more. Suddenly, before Butch could even get a single punch in, a sound similar to a whip crack rang out, and he stopped mid-swing. He looked, and much to his shock, a red-and-gold-striped tie was wrapped around his wrist, preventing the brutality from continuing. His eyes followed the length of the tie to see its wielder glaring at him. 

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you that you should _never_ hit a girl?” George asked. The red-haired boy shakily stood up and made his way over to try to help Jade, who managed to get her breath back. 

“The girl I get, but thince when are you helping Thneedly, Beard?” Butch asked. “Latht I checked, he’th tattled on you and your buddy to Krupp more than me! Ithn’t he the reathon you two got theparated?!” 

“Yeah...” George confirmed, pulling his tie away from Butch’s wrist. The whole school knew about George and Harold being put in separate classes at this point. “But that doesn’t mean that you and your buddies can go gang up on him and my new friend!” 

“Well, that thycho thould’ve minded her own buthineth!” 

“ _ **WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?**_ ” an all-too-familiar voice roared, making almost everyone freeze. Butch and his friends began trembling with fear as a red-faced Mr. Krupp stormed up to them, followed closely behind by Harold, Benny, and Sawyer, whose eyes went wide upon seeing her daughter with a bruise forming on her eye and struggling to stand up. 

“Oh my God, JADE!” she screamed, and rushed to her daughter’s side. Jade stood on shaky legs for a brief moment, before falling to her hands and knees and emptying the contents of her stomach on the grass in front of her. Sawyer rubbed her back comfortingly and held her hair out of her face. Krupp then glared at Butch, Manny, and Greg. 

“You three. My office. _Now_.” The three boys flinched in fear at the sound of his voice, before slinking away back into the school. Jade flinched slightly, as well. She didn’t dare look up at his face. He sounded so... _angry_. His voice was almost growling, kinda like how you’d imagine the monster hiding under some poor kid’s bed to sound. Maybe her cousins _weren’t_ exaggerating about him, after all... 

Krupp then let out a tired sigh. 

“George, Harold... please take Jade and Melvin to the Nurse’s office. Sawyer, you and Benny go with them. I’ll be right behind you. I just need to take care of those other three, first.” 

Sawyer cradled Jade in one arm and held Benny’s hand with her free one as George and Harold helped Melvin up. She briefly glanced back to look at Krupp as she and the five kids headed back inside. 

Krupp stood in the pouring rain for a moment or two before heading in himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Nurse Denise Offstill was used to Melvin Sneedly being a regular patient at her office for various reasons, but when George and Harold brought him in today, this was probably the worst case. 

“Oh my God, what happened?!” She shrieked once she caught sight of him. His glasses were broken, he had a black eye (amongst several other bruises on his face), and his nose was bleeding. He looked an absolute mess. 

“Butch and his goons happened, Nurse O.” George explained. “You’ll probably be seeing them later. Krupp’s chewing them out as we speak. And believe it or not, but they look WORSE than Melvin does now!” 

“Wait, what?” Nurse Offstill asked, clearly confused. “What happened to them?” 

“ _She_ happened.” Harold pointed behind him, and it was then that the nurse noticed three new faces; a woman and two children. In the woman’s arms was a girl who looked pretty banged up herself. 

“Her name is Jade.” Harold continued to explain. “She was standing up for Melvin, and got into a fight with them.” 

“She roughed them up pretty good.” George added. “But Butch punched her in the eye, then kicked her in the stomach. She threw up.” The school nurse winced at this, and motioned for the two injured kids to be brought over to two nearby futons so she could treat their wounds. After the two were situated, she then looked at the woman who had been carrying Jade. 

“Forgive me, I didn’t get your name.” 

“Oh!” Sawyer blushed. “I’m Jade’s Mom. Sawyer Grayps. I also got hired as the new art teacher today. Sorry we didn’t meet under better circumstances...” 

“Denise Offstill.” She shook Sawyer’s hand. “And it’s fine. Let’s worry more about getting these two patched up.” She then pulled out a small first aid kit and two ice packs, gently putting them over Jade and Melvin’s black eyes, after the latter’s broken glasses had been removed and placed on a nearby table, of course. She then looked at Jade. “Do you need anything else, sweetie?” 

“My mouth still tastes kinda gross.” She explained as she sat up a bit. “Also my stomach still hurts and feels queasy all at once...” The nurse smiled in understanding. Throwing up can do that. 

“I could get you some ginger ale.” She said. “It’ll get that bad taste out of your mouth, and help settle your stomach.” 

“Yes, please. Thank you.” The Nurse then looked at Melvin and sat on the end of his futon. 

“Melvin, do you want me to get you some water?” He simply nodded at her in response. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. Nurse Offstill then got up and walked over to the mini-fridge next to her desk. 

“Hey, um... Melvin, right?” The boy in question turned his head and squinted at Jade through his uncovered eye. Without his glasses, his eyesight was pretty poor. “You okay?” 

“I will be.” He finally answered. Jade noted that his voice was a bit nasally, but she doubted that it was because of the piece of tissue that the nurse had stuck in one of his nostrils in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “Thank you, by the way. For standing up for me, I mean... no one’s ever done that for me, before.” Jade opened her mouth to answer, but that’s when Nurse Offstill came back, a can of ginger ale in one hand, and a small bottled water in the other. Sawyer helped both kids sit up. 

“Here you go.” She handed them their respective drinks. “Now drink them slowly, okay?” Jade nodded as she removed the ice pack she was holding to her eye to grip the can with both hands, and took small sips. The fizziness of the drink tickled her throat, and thankfully washed the lingering taste of puke out of her mouth. After a couple of sips, she let out a small burp, which certainly helped settle her stomach a bit. Nurse Offstill nodded in satisfaction at this, and after briefly checking on Melvin once more, went over to talk to Sawyer, and give them some space. 

“Hey, you don’t need to thank me.” Jade finally answered Melvin after taking a few more sips. “You were in trouble. I was just trying to do the right thing.” 

“But now _you_ might get in serious trouble because of _me_.” He looked guilty. 

“Well, yeah...” she trailed off a bit, but quickly reassured him. “But it’s not your fault! It was _my_ choice to help you, and I wound up in a fight. It happens. But hey, we got matching shiners out of it!” She briefly pointed to her black eye in an attempt to cheer him up, but she couldn’t help but frown as she noticed him squinting again. “Sorry I didn’t step in before your glasses were broken. Maybe I could’ve prevented that...” 

“Oh, don’t worry!” Now it was Melvin’s turn to reassure her. “I actually have a few spare pairs at home in case of emergencies like this.” He then blushed. “With my hobbies, it happens more often than I’d care to mention...” 

“What are your hobbies?” She tilted her head in interest. He looked at her in surprise. He wasn’t expecting her to actually ask. 

“Oh. Well... I’m a bit of an inventor in my spare time.” 

“Really? That’s so cool! What kind of stuff have you made?” 

“You... actually wanna know?” 

“Yes, please!” He couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. It’s not everyday that someone his own age was actually interested in his Inventions. 

“Well, one of them is a prototype of an automatic sock-matcher...” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

While the two injured children were bonding, the two adults in the office were, as well. 

“So, you come from a big family, too?” Sawyer asked. Nurse Offstill nodded. 

“Yep. I’m the baby of 5 kids, and the only daughter, to boot!” 

“Yeah, I came from a predominantly male family, too.” Sawyer said with a laugh. “I’m the middle child of 7 kids, myself. 2 girls, 5 boys. And two of ‘em are twins.” Nurse Offstill let out a low whistle. 

“That must’ve been one hectic household...” 

“You have no idea.” She then sighed. “And with a perfectionist like my father... it wasn’t easy.” The nurse was about to ask more about it, when a knock rang out. They, along with the five kids with them, looked up to see Krupp standing in the doorway. 

“Hey, Offstill. How are Melvin and Jade holding up?” Nurse Offstill raised an eyebrow at him. It was a rare occurrence for him to not be yelling his head off whenever he came to her office. In fact, he was rather uncharacteristically quiet. He must’ve used up all his energy chewing out those sixth graders. And with the injuries the two kids she was treating had, it seemed to be pretty justified. 

“Well, they have a couple scrapes here and there, quite a few bruises, and a bloody nose in Melvin’s case... but thankfully, they’re gonna be just fine.” 

“Thank goodness.” Krupp sighed in relief. 

“Mr. Krupp... please don’t punish Jade!” Melvin spoke up, surprising everyone. Krupp looked at him. 

“Melvin...” 

“It was my fault she got into that fight with Butch and his friends!” Melvin continued to plead. 

“Melvin.” 

“She was only trying to help—!” 

“Melvin!” Krupp said sternly, finally getting the bruised boy to stop rambling. “I know. Don’t worry. She’s not in trouble for fighting them.” 

“She’s not?” Melvin, George, and Harold asked, all three of them sounding rather relieved. 

“I’m not?” Jade was astounded. He had sounded so angry earlier, she had thought for sure that she was in trouble, too. 

“No, you’re not.” He reassured her. “Like Melvin said, you were only trying to protect him.” He then smirked. “And may I say, you did a pretty good job of doing it. Butch, Manny, and Greg somehow look worse than you and Melvin do! You’re quite the little Bruiser.” Jade blushed a little at this. 

“Ben, don’t encourage her!” Sawyer scolded, though it was clear that she was just as proud of her daughter. Nurse Offstill couldn’t help but smile, herself. This was an even rarer occurrence; Krupp actually _complimenting_ a student for basically breaking the rules. 

“Thanks...” Jade quietly answered. Then a serious look crossed her face. “But still, I got into a fight and beat up three guys pretty bad. You’re really gonna let me off for that?” Krupp was surprised at this. Normally, a student would beg not to be punished. 

“Well, normally you’d be suspended, just as Butch and his friends have been now.” He explained. “But since you were just trying to protect Melvin... Three days’ detention starting Monday sound fair?” Jade smirked at him. 

“You drive a hard bargain Mr. K.” She said with a wink. “Yeah, I’d say it’s fair.” She then held out her hand. Krupp couldn’t help but grin as he shook it. This kid was Sawyer’s daughter, all right. And speaking of children and their parents... 

“Offstill?” He asked. The nurse looked up at him. “Maybe you should call Mrs. Sneedly; let her know that Melvin needs a new pair of glasses.” 

“Already on it.” Nurse Offstill quickly picked up the phone on her desk and started dialing. 

“Wait... did you say... ‘Sneedly’?” asked Sawyer. She stared at Melvin. Now that she got a good look at him, he _did_ strongly resemble someone from hers and Krupp’s childhood. “Ben, don’t tell me...” 

“It’s exactly what you think.” Krupp confirmed, trying not to laugh. 

“ _GAYLORD_ REPRODUCED?!” She exclaimed. Melvin looked at her. 

“You know my Poppa?” 

“His Dad’s name is ‘Gaylord’?” Harold whispered to George as they, Jade, and Benny tried to suppress their giggles. 

“I’ve known your father since preschool!” She continued. She then stared at him again. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner; you’re almost the spitting image of him! And no offense, but when we were kids, he was the last person I ever expected to get married, let alone have kids of his own! He was always so absorbed in his science stuff.” 

“None taken. And yeah, that sounds like Poppa.” Melvin said with a small smile. “Mommy, too, now that I think about it...” 

_“Huh. So Gaylord actually managed to meet his match...”_ Sawyer mused to herself. 

“Alright, Thank you.” Nurse Offstill hung up the phone, then looked at Melvin. “Your mom’s on her way here with your spare glasses. Apparently she and your dad finished their latest project earlier than expected, so I wasn’t interrupting anything when I called.” This day just seemed to be full of rare occurrences... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“WHERE IS HE?” 

Cindy Sneedly had grabbed her son’s spare glasses and gotten into her car practically seconds after she had received Nurse Offstill’s call. Almost everyone jumped when she came bursting into the nurse’s office not even five minutes after Nurse Offstill had hung up the phone. 

“Hi, Mommy...” Melvin said quietly. Mrs. Sneedly covered her mouth upon catching sight of her son. 

“Oh, Melvin!” She was at his side in an instant, handing him his spare glasses, which he put on. She then glared at Mr. Krupp. “What happened?” Sawyer noted that the woman’s gentle, almost airy voice quickly took on the sharpness of knives. Krupp was quick to explain about Butch and his friends ganging up on Melvin, and that they’ve already been suspended for their actions. Mrs. Sneedly’s features softened as she looked at Melvin again. “Oh, my poor baby...” 

“I’ll be fine, Mommy.” He reassured. “Besides, I might’ve been hurt much worse if it hadn’t been for her.” Jade blushed as she felt several pairs of eyes on her. 

“Hey, it was nothing.” She tried to brush it off, only for Mrs. Sneedly to stop her. 

“My foot, it was nothing! You helped my baby when no one else would. Thank you so much, Miss...?” She trailed off a bit. Jade quickly realized what she was asking and smiled. 

“Jade. My name’s Jade Grayps. Nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise. And again, thank you, Jade.” Jade’s blush increased at the praise. Nurse Offstill then cleared her throat. 

“I just wanted to let you guys know, it’s almost gonna be time for the kids to head home.” The adults in the room gave her a confused look, then noticed the time on the wall clock. It was almost ten minutes to three. Everyone, sans the nurse, gaped. Where the heck did the time go?! 

“I’ve missed so many classes!” Melvin shrieked, scrambling off the futon. “My teachers are gonna think I skipped!” 

“Melvin, calm down.” Mr. Krupp was quick to reassure him. “I’ll talk to your teachers and tell them what happened. Now breathe.” Melvin took a deep breath and smiled, silently thanking him. 

“Whelp, we’d better head out!” Sawyer said, taking Benny’s hand. She then looked at Nurse Offstill. “Thanks again, Denise. So, I’ll be seeing you Saturday, right?” 

“Saturday?” She was confused for a moment, then realization dawned on her face. “Oh right, the retirement party. Yeah, you’ll see me there.” Sawyer smiled, then turned around as she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Mrs. Sneedly. 

“You’re Jade’s Mother, aren’t you?” She asked. Sawyer nodded in confirmation. “I wanted to thank you, as well. You’ve raised a very kind little girl.” 

“Thanks. My name’s Sawyer, by the way.” 

“Cindy Sneedly. Pleasure to meet you.” She then took Melvin’s hand. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you home and in a nice warm bath.” As they left, Melvin waved at Jade, who waved back. 

“Bye.” 

“See ya later.” 

“So, me and the kids will be starting first thing Monday, right?” Sawyer asked Krupp, who nodded. 

“Yep.” 

“And we still set for Saturday?” She then whispered. He rolled his eyes, but smiled. 

“You know we are.” 

“Just double checking.” She winked, then looked at George and Harold. “Hey guys, want me to give you a ride home?” They looked at her in surprise. 

“Really?” 

“You’d do that?” 

“Hey, we live next door to each other now, so why not?” She shrugged. The boys looked at each other, then nodded at her. “Okay then! Come on, Jade!” Jade hopped off the futon and walked over. 

“See ya soon, Mr. K!” She said to Mr. Krupp, who ruffled her hair in response. 

“See ya, Bruiser.” Jade grinned at the nickname, then looked at the school nurse. “And thanks, Nurse Offstill. I’ll see you Monday!” 

“Please try to stay out of fights.” Nurse Offstill winked, then plucked two lollipops from a mug on her desk, and handed them to her. “Give one of those to your brother, okay?” 

“Okay.” Jade giggled, then she and the boys quickly followed Sawyer and Benny into the hallway. Soon they were at the car, and Jade quickly climbed into the front passenger seat, and Sawyer helped Benny into his car seat. But before George and Harold could enter the car themselves, she stopped them. 

“Hey, guys?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I was wondering; if you two aren’t busy, I’m gonna need help with a little...” a sneaky grin crossed her face, and she winked. “ _Surprise_ that your principal and I have planned for Rhant this Saturday. You interested?” 

George and Harold looked at each other, then back at Sawyer with grins that mirrored hers. Something told them that they were really gonna like having this lady for a teacher.


	7. The Retirement Party

Saturday had come pretty quick that week. Almost too quick for Mr. Krupp’s liking. 

Today was the retirement party for the now-former superintendent (and his former principal) Mr. Rhant. And frankly... 

He was _terrified_. 

It was bad enough that Rhant had both the entirety of students and staff show up to school at 7 in the morning on a Saturday, but HE had been placed in charge with making sure that the retirement party reached Rhant’s near-impossible expectations. Not to mention, it certainly didn’t help that while Sawyer had given him a few details, she had been keeping what exactly she had planned for the old man under wraps. And once he found out that she had also managed to rope _George and Harold_ into her little plan, he knew this wouldn’t end well. 

_“Breathe, Benny. Breathe.”_ He thought to himself. _“Sawyer’s smart. She knows what she’s doing—”_ He then suddenly jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. 

“Ben?” Oh, thank Heaven. It was Edith. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” He answered shakily. “Just a bit nervous...” 

“‘A bit’?” Edith couldn’t help but giggle. “As my Mom would say, you’re sweatin’ like a sinner in church!” Her smile then turned sympathetic. “This Rhant guy’s a real hard-case, huh?” 

“You have no idea.” Krupp sighed pitifully. “The man was in the military, and pretty much acted like a damn Drill Sargent around us when I was a student here. It was a wonder that nobody’s ear drums got messed up by his yelling!” Edith rubbed his back comfortingly. 

“Don’t worry, hun.” She assured. “You only have to put up with him for just a few hours today, then you’ll never have to see him again.” Krupp smiled and held her hand. 

“I know. Thanks, Edith.” He then gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which got a small gigglesnort out of her, much to his delight. He always thought she had the cutest laugh. 

“Awwwwwwwww!” An overjoyed voice cooed. 

Blushing, the two turned to see Sawyer, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree. Jade and Benny were giggling, and even George and Harold were genuinely smiling at them. 

“Don’t mind me.” She said, casually leaning on the school sign. “I’m just enjoying how adorable you two are.” Krupp’s blush deepened as Edith smiled. 

“If you’re done giggling like a schoolgirl, Sawyer, Rhant is gonna be here any minute!” said Krupp, clearly trying to change the subject. “Do you really want to ruin your own plan?” Sawyer rolled her eyes and grinned. 

“Fair point... Casanova.” Edith couldn’t help but giggle again at Sawyer’s playful jab. Krupp looked at his best friend pointedly. “Alright, alright, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone!” Sawyer said, getting the hint. She then glanced at the school sign, noticing that it read, ‘ **HAPPY RETIREMENT, MR. RHANT! WE’LL MISS YOU!** ’ She couldn’t help but smirk as yet another idea formed in her head. “One quick question; where are the letters for the school sign? I’m gonna need ‘em.” 

“They’re in the supply closet near my office...” 

“Thanks!” She quickly gestured for the four kids with her to head back into the school, which they quickly did. 

“Sawyer, why do you need them?” Krupp asked as she turned to head inside herself. 

“You’ll see~!” She said in a sing-song voice, and skipped into the school like an excited child, the doors shutting behind her. 

“I can see why you’re friends with her,” Edith whispered with a smile. “She seems to be a lot of fun!” Krupp sighed, but couldn’t help giving a small smile back. 

“Even after all these years, she hasn’t changed a bit.” 

Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires penetrated the air, making many of the kids outside either scream or cover their ears. The source of the noise was an old, black convertible (a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, to be exact), pulling in front of the school. After it came to a complete stop, a much older man stepped out. He was shorter and much stouter than Krupp, with thinning white hair styled in a bad combover, and an equally white mustache. He wore brown pants with matching shoes, and a vomit green polo shirt. The frown lines on his face were incredibly prominent, as was the scowl he was currently sporting. Old wire glasses framed his cold, dark eyes, which were now staring right at Krupp, making a chill go down the younger man’s spine. 

_“And neither has he...”_ Krupp thought to himself fearfully. No matter how old he got, one look from those eyes made him feel like a terrified little boy all over again. He then cleared his throat in an attempt to make the chill go away. “Mr. Rhant,” he said as bravely as he could. “On time as always, sir!” 

“Krupp,” Mr. Rhant responded gruffly. He then glanced around the front yard of the school. "I see you actually managed to pull through for once.” Krupp responded with an anxious chuckle. 

“Of course, sir! When have I not?” 

“You want me to list ‘em?” Rhant didn’t see it, but Edith was giving him an uncharacteristically dagger-like glare. _How dare he?_ Benjamin Krupp was the hardest-working man she ever knew. He lost much-needed sleep, stressed over, and put his all into planning this stupid retirement party for a man whom, from how he had been described to her, had done nothing to deserve it! 

“Ha ha!” Krupp let out another nervous laugh. “Good one, sir!” Rhant’s expression remained unchanged. 

“Who’s joking?” 

Edith had half a mind to head back into the kitchen and spit in his serving of that stupid tapioca pudding she had to make for him. Which reminded her... 

“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I need to head back in. That tapioca pudding for our... guest of honor here isn’t gonna finish itself!” And with a quick reassuring grip to her boyfriend’s hand, she headed inside. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Oooooooh, that man is INSUFFERABLE!” Edith said as she frustratedly stirred the large bowl of tapioca pudding in front of her. “I was only around him for a _minute_ , and I wanted to slap him silly!” Sawyer watched as she continued to violently stir, pudding spilling over the edges of the bowl. 

“Um, Edith...? You better slow the stirring, or there won’t be much pudding to serve.” Sawyer finally spoke up. 

“Huh? Oh, shoot!” Edith stopped stirring and grabbed a dish rag to mop up the mess. Sawyer picked up a roll of paper towels, ripping off a few sheets so she could assist. 

“However, you might be doing the kids a service, here,” She joked. “I’m pretty sure that aside from a few of the older teachers, Ol’ Rhanty is the only person at this party that even _likes_ tapioca pudding.” Edith smiled a bit a bit at that, but it quickly turned into a concerned frown. 

“How did you and Ben even stay sane with a principal like that?” Sawyer gave a small shrug. 

“Simple; we had our pranks, and we had each other... at least until my family moved to Boston when I was 12.” 

“So Ben had to deal with that awful man _alone_?” Edith asked. Sawyer nodded somberly. “No wonder he’s so scared of him...” 

“And it’s also why I hate Rhant.” Sawyer muttered to herself. Edith tilted her head questioningly. 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing,” Sawyer quickly said with a slight defensive edge in her voice, which faded as she added, “I-I’ll tell you later.” Edith was about to question further, when George and Harold came into the kitchen, carrying a cardboard box, with Jade and Benny not too far behind. 

“We got spare letters for the school sign!” George said. 

“Perfect,” Sawyer said with a grin, and rummaged through the box, picking out four tiles and handing them to Harold. “Now, I want you two to head outside, just act natural, and when Rhant’s not looking, change the message on the school sign. Then, as soon as you’re done, I want you to come back and meet me right inside the main entrance.” 

“Sure thing!” Harold said, pocketing the extra tiles. 

“Got any requests?” George asked. Sawyer grinned. 

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She then knelt into a huddle with the two boys, and whispered something to them. But George and Harold looked a little confused by her choice of message. 

“Really?” 

“That’s all?” 

“Trust me, boys,” Sawyer said with a wink. “It’s simple, but it’ll be effective.” The two boys simply shrugged in response and headed out. 

“What can we do to help, Mom?” Jade asked. Benny was bouncing on his toes next to her, just as eager to help. Sawyer thought on this, and smiled. 

“I want you and your brother to head outside, too.” She said. “It’ll be a good opportunity to get to know your new classmates. But I don’t want you guys to draw too much attention to yourselves, okay? Especially not Rhant’s attention.” 

“Okay. C’mon, Benny.” Jade said, taking her brother’s hand and heading out, as well. 

“You headin’ out, too?” Edith couldn’t help but ask. Sawyer gave her a smile. 

“In a bit,” She said, and held up some more paper towels. “But first I’m gonna help you clean up this pudding!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

George and Harold were finally at the party, and quickly blended in with their classmates, who were more than happy to see them. 

“Where have you guys been?” asked Todd, a boy from Harold’s class. “We’ve been bored to death out here!” 

“Yeah!” agreed Todd’s friend Harvey Monicker, a fifth-grade boy. “At this rate, I’d prefer another Invention Convention instead!” 

“Please tell us you’ve got something good planned,” said Mary, a girl who sat next to George in science class. 

“We can’t indulge any details,” George said. “But yes, we do.” The kids all grinned. 

“Knowing you guys, I bet it’s gonna be awesome!” Harvey said. 

“But...” spoke up Tommy, who couldn’t help but overhear. “What if Melvin figures out what you’re up to, and tattles on you again?” The mood quickly turned somber at this. 

“Good point,” said Todd with a small scowl. “I mean, hasn’t he ruined your lives enough?” Harold couldn’t help but flinch at that. 

“Maybe... you guys shouldn’t be so hard on him.” he said, thinking back to the harsh bullying Melvin had gotten from Butch and his friends the other day. “He didn’t know it was gonna end up with me and George being put in separate classes.” 

“I can’t believe I’m saying it, but Harold’s right,” George said. “Melvin didn’t know what Krupp was gonna do. He was just doing it for extra credit, like he always does.” The kids looked unsure at this, but were willing to listen. 

“Okay...” Todd muttered. 

“One thing I still can’t figure out, though,” Mary spoke up. “What is it with him and extra credit, anyways? It’s not like he needs it. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s one of the smartest kids in school! He’s in almost all of the same classes as me, and I’ve never seen him get anything below an A+!” 

George and Harold shrugged, because honestly, they could never figure it out, either. And they’ve known him since kindergarten! Harold put his hands in his pockets, reminding him why they were there to begin with. He nudged George and nodded towards the school sign. George nodded back then looked at their classmates. 

“Okay, the coast looks about clear, so we’re gonna get this goin’. See ya later!” 

“Good luck, guys,” said Tommy. The two friends gave him and thumbs-up, and they headed slowly and quietly towards the school sign. They were just a few more steps away from it, when... 

“There you two are!” While they knew that he was in on their prank this time, the boys still stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of Krupp’s voice, purely out of habit. They both took a deep breath, then looked at the two adults staring at them. 

“Yeah, Mr. Krupp?” George asked, sounding as innocent as he possibly could. Krupp kept his usual stoic look. 

“A moment, please?” He asked. George and Harold quickly walked over to him and Mr. Rhant. “Boys, this is Superintendent Rhant, our guest of honor for today’s party.” 

“Nice to meet you.” George and Harold chorused politely, even though they didn’t mean it in the slightest. Krupp then glanced in Rhant’s direction. 

“Sir, this is...” 

“George Beard and Harold Hutchins,” Mr. Rhant said, making the boys in question and Krupp tense up slightly. “I read up on their files,” he explained. “I know all about you two and your... shenanigans.” He then shot a look at Krupp. “Surprised it took you _four years_ to finally put them in separate classes, Benjamin.” Krupp chuckled anxiously. 

“Well, it was hard to pin it on them, Sir. These days, people want proof. I was finally able to catch them in the act, though!” Rhant gave a small huff, then suddenly looked back at George and Harold, quite literally cracking a cruel grin. 

“If we still did things _my_ way, here,” he said darkly. “... _You two would’ve been put in separate schools altogether_.” 

The boys froze at this. _Separate **schools**? He could actually do that?_ Harold’s eyes went wide as he began to tremble. George sensed his friend was on the verge of a panic attack, and quickly gripped his hand in support, glaring back at Rhant, who continued to give them that twisted grin. 

“Pudding’s up!” Edith’s voice rang out as she exited the school, a large bowl of tapioca pudding in her arms. The boys let out a small relieved breath at the distraction. Rhant straightened up. 

“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen,” he said. “That pudding’s calling my name.” And with that, he headed for the snack table, allowing Krupp and the boys to let out the shudders they’d been holding. 

“I had almost forgotten how unnatural it was when that man smiled...” Krupp muttered. 

“When YOU smile, it makes our blood run cold,” George said. 

“But when HE smiles?” Harold shuddered again. “I’m pretty sure both a puppy _and_ a kitten somewhere just died.” Krupp couldn’t help but agree at that. Then he noticed that Rhant’s back was to them. 

“Look, whatever Sawyer wants you two to do,” he whispered to them. “You better do it now while he’s not looking.” George and Harold nodded, and quickly went to work on the school sign. Krupp couldn’t help but roll his eyes a bit when he saw the new message. 

_“Typical Sawyer...”_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Harold was still trembling by the time he and George had met with Sawyer back inside the main entrance. This didn’t go unnoticed by her, and she kneeled down to meet his eye level. 

“Hey, are you okay?” She asked. He didn’t answer her, as he was more focused on taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. 

“Your old principal is a monster,” George said angrily. 

“What happened?” 

“He said that he would’ve put us in separate schools if he were still in charge,” he explained, glaring out the window at Rhant. Sawyer clenched her fists at this. Hadn’t he caused enough misery today just by making everyone waste a perfectly good Saturday by coming to this stupid “party”? Now he had to go and give a poor kid, who had done NOTHING to him, a panic attack. She looked at Harold, her anger temporarily fading, and slowly pulled him into a hug. 

“It’s okay, shhhhhh. Rhanty’s retired now. He can’t do anything to you guys,” she rubbed his back as she tried to reassure both him and George. “And even if he does try something, I won’t let it. Not in a million years.” 

_“He’s ruined enough lives,”_ she thought to herself. Harold finally managed to calm down and he looked up at her gratefully. 

“Thanks,” he said. She grinned back. 

“No problem!” She then stood back up, and reached into a duffle bag she had brought with her, pulling out two kid-sized black leather jackets, that matched the one she was currently sporting. “Now here, put these on.” 

“What are these for?” George asked. 

“If we’re gonna do this, we’re doing it in style!” She winked. The boys couldn’t help but smile as they put the jackets on. Sawyer then handed them each a pair of sunglasses, which they put on. “Got the boom-box ready?” She then asked. George nodded, and she handed him a CD. “Track 6. I’ll let you know when to press play.” 

Looking out the window once again, she saw Rhant walk back over to Krupp, a bowl of tapioca pudding in his hand. They seemed to engage in small talk, albeit uncomfortably on Ben’s part, for a few minutes. Then, just as Rhant had another spoonful of pudding, he glanced at the school sign briefly before doing a rather hilarious double-take, spitting out the pudding he was eating and dropping the bowl in his hand. His eyes were huge at this point as he stared at the school sign, his face going pale. 

He saw it. That was her cue. 

“You boys ready to do this?” She asked, slipping on her own pair of sunglasses. 

“Yeah!” 

Oh, she was gonna enjoy this way more than she should. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Rhant’s face was now paper white as he continued to stare at the school sign. He had seen the message on the that sign as soon as he got there. He knew what it had read. But now, the message was different. It was a message that, for the first time in the cruel old man’s life, made his blood run cold. 

**_DID YA MISS ME, RHANTY?_**

Mr. Rhant slowly backed away from the sign before bumping into Krupp. 

“Sir?” He asked. “Something wrong?” 

The longer Rhant stared at that message, the more his fear quickly turned to anger. He then turned and glared up at his former student. 

“...Where is she, Krupp?” He growled. The younger man looked at him, seemingly oblivious. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT!” Rhant shouted, getting the attention of everyone, staff and students alike, and pointed at the new message on the school sign. “Only _one person_ ever called me that. And you know EXACTLY who I’m talking about! So you are going to tell me right now; _Where. Is. She?_ ” 

Krupp opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the front doors of the school swung open to the sounds of... _AC/DC_? Everyone turned in the direction of the sound to see George and Harold, wearing matching leather jackets and sunglasses. The music was actually coming from the boom-box George had hoisted onto his shoulder, turned up to full volume. Then the two stepped aside, and up strolled a woman with short, light brown hair, wearing jeans, high-top sneakers, and the same leather-jacket-and-sunglasses combo as them. Underneath said jacket, she wore a bright red t-shirt that read in white letters, ‘ _I Don’t Know How to Act My Age. I’ve Never Been This Old Before_ ’. Most of the people in attendance had no clue who this woman was, but the two boys with her, the lunch lady, the school nurse, the principal, and the now-retired superintendent, did. 

Krupp was trying desperately not to laugh, while Rhant had tensed up in anger. The woman gave him a defiant Cheshire Cat grin and began to strut in his direction as the music played. 

_**Back in black**_

_**I hit the sack**_

_**I've been too long, I'm glad to be back**_

_**Yes, I'm let loose**_

_**From the noose**_

_**That's kept me hanging about**_

The teachers continued to watch on in stunned silence, several questions running through all their minds. _Who was this woman? What was she doing here? Did Krupp know her? He certainly seemed happy to see her._

_**I've been looking at the sky**_

_**'Cause it's gettin' me high**_

_**Forget the hearse, 'cause I never die**_

_**I got nine lives**_

_**Cat's eyes**_

_**Abusin' every one of them and running wild**_

The woman briefly stopped to glance at the students looking at her. She then smiled, lowered her sunglasses, and gave them a friendly wink, before slipping the sunglasses back on and heading towards her targeted destination, George and Harold following behind her. It was at that moment that unlike their teachers, the students of Jerome Horwitz Elementary all agreed on one thing; whoever this lady was, George and Harold seemed to like her. And therefore, she was COOL. 

Rhant, on the other hand, couldn’t be thinking more oppositely. His face was tomato red, and he was trembling with fury at this point at just the mere _sight_ of her. She grinned smugly, knowing that even though she hadn’t even _said_ anything to him yet, she had successfully gotten so deep under his skin, he looked ready to burst a blood vessel. It was then that she finally came to a stop just a few feet from him and Krupp. 

_**'Cause I'm back**_

_**Yes, I'm back**_

_**Well, I'm back**_

_**Yes, I'm back**_

_**Well, I'm back, back**_

_**Well, I'm back in black**_

_**Yes, I'm BACK IN BLACK!**_

She made a quick signal to the boys, who turned off the boom-box. She then took off her sunglasses, and looked right at Rhant, whose face went even redder. 

“Sawyer Grayps...” He growled through clenched teeth. Sawyer grinned smugly. 

“Hello, Rhanty. Told you I’d be back.”


End file.
